Limited-Edition Print o
f 350 (13x19) prints
Signed and numbered by the Artist.
This is a painting for my book project, and it is a real car, circa 1954.
The scene is the City Airport at Madera California circa 1954.
We see Flagman Mario Acquilino leaping 3 feet off the ground as he sends two locals down the track. As makeshift Drag Strips were popping up all across the country in the early 50s, in an attempt to get these "Badboy" Hot Rodders off the city streets, here we find ourselves at Madera City Airport on a windy Sunday afternoon in 54.
The street roadster on the left, (was probably driven to the Airport, by the driver (sans helmet) who's hair is now blowing in the wind,) is up against what looks like a 'Club" car, most likely built by a local car club and towed to the track.
The roadster is a street driven Hot Rod, where as the coupe is a car built for racing only, and when not Drag Racing, it might even be seen on the Dry Lake beds running flat out...
Here the cars are being flag started from a rolling start. The cars would slowly and evenly roll forward for about 100 feet, then if the Starter thought they were lined-up even, he would jump waving the green flag. If the cars were not lined-up evenly, or one car jumped ahead of the other, the Starter would throw the red flag, and the race would be started over.
This is the way we started!
